Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/101712
F ront Runners Clark Gable's second wife, Maria "Ria" Langham, hit Vegas while awaiting their divorce. unholy matrimony LAS VEGAS MAY NOW BE KNOWN AS THE MARRIAGE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, BUT IT WAS ONCE A FAMOUS DESTINATION FOR THE HOLLYWOOD-SIZED DIVORCE OF CLARK GABLE AND SECOND WIFE, MARIA LANGHAM. BY KATRINA CONCEPCION 4 PHOTOGRAPHY BY AP PHOTO S ix years after the repeal of Prohibition and eight after Nevada legalized gambling and passed its now-famous divorce liberalization laws, Maria Langham hit the town for her very public divorce from smoldering silverscreen star Clark Gable. Though Nevada has no waiting period for undoing one's "I do's," the Texas socialite 17 years his senior was still required to establish in-state residency for six weeks before she was able to file for divorce from the dashing actor. Anything but camera-shy, she passed the time by—what else—partying and gambling all over town. On January 30, 1939, "Ria" was snapped placing bets at the roulette wheel at a downtown club, perhaps thinking she'd have better luck at the tables than she'd had in love. Gable and Langham's eight-year marriage ended after speculation of Clark's multiple indiscretions surfaced, including affairs with costars Joan Crawford and Carole Lombard, the latter of whom would become his third wife. (Tragically, Lombard died in a 1942 plane crash outside Las Vegas just a few years after they wed.) Working with the local chamber, Langham's Vegas shenanigans put Sin City in the news as the go-to "Divorce Capital of the World," stealing the title from Reno. Vegas's new reputation eventually garnered now-legendary business for quickies on both sides of the aisle: "I do's" and "I don'ts." V VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 004_V_FOB_FR_Win13.indd 4 1/2/13 2:32 PM